“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Kirk Woosley Patton of Fincastle Ancestry Research has searched for his ancestors since he was a student majoring in history at the University of Kentucky more than thirty years ago. In the years since, he has spent many hours in courthouses and libraries throughout Kentucky and the United States searching for information about his ancestry. Prior to becoming a professional genealogist, Kirk practiced law in Kentucky for eighteen years and has applied his experience with court proceedings, estate settlement and land transfer to his genealogical research.
Not only has Kirk researched his ancestry for decades, he also has engaged in a multi-generational research project involving an ancestor, who was born in 1758, and his descendants. This search for Woosley descendants has spanned two centuries and includes hundreds of individuals across the nation.
Kirk’s research experience has included not only courthouses but also the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and regional libraries throughout the United States. He has searched for his family at state and national archives across the country as well as at repositories of birth, marriage and death records. Kirk is similarly experienced with census, taxation, military, immigration and naturalization records.
